Woman Accused of Stabbing Cousin's Cat to Death

Tish Coleman, 31, of the 6400 block of South Maryland Avenue, was charged with felonly animal cruelty and misdemeanor domestic battery after she stabbed her cousin's cat to death, authorities said.
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Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — When police arrested a Woodlawn woman allegedly found with a knife covered in blood and "meat," she reportedly told cops she did nothing to her cousin's dead cat.

Tish Coleman, 31, fought with her cousin and then fatally stabbed the woman's 1-year-old cat outside their Woodlawn apartment on Friday night, according to prosecutors and arrest documents.

Coleman, of the 6400 block of South Maryland Avenue, got into a verbal argument with her 26-year-old cousin at the apartment, arrest documents show. The argument escalated, prosecutors said during Coleman's Sunday bond hearing.

Coleman struck her cousin in the face and tore her shirt, afterwhich her cousin "wrestled" Coleman out the back door of the apartment, according to prosecutors and arrest documents.

A witness at the scene allegedly noticed Coleman sitting on the back porch and saw the cat come outside. The witness went into the apartment and closed the door, documents show.

Coleman's cousin opened the door sometime later and saw her cat bleeding on the landing, according to arrest documents. Arrest documents show the pet was found with puncture wounds to its left side and didn't survive.

Cops arrested Coleman at a nearby CTA bus stop about 8 p.m, and she was found with a Swiss knife that had blood and "meat on the blade," arrest documents show. Prosecutors said she was "covered in blood."

When an officer asked Coleman about the dead pet, she responded, "I did nothing to the cat," according to arrest documents.